Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has reviewed the recommendation of the Health and Social Care Committee for the establishment of an independent Mental Health Commissioner; and what alternative mechanisms are in place to ensure independent oversight, accountability and implementation of lessons arising from serious failures in mental health care services.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the Government’s response to the Health and Select Committee’s fourth report of session 2024 to 2026: community mental health services, published 11 March 2026, specifically regarding recommendation 22, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the additional business rates support available to eligible pubs and live music venues to independent gyms and other leisure businesses, including on the viability of independent gyms and levels of physical activity.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The Government recognises the important contribution that independent gyms and other leisure businesses make to local communities and to supporting physical activity. They benefit from the Government's business rates reforms, including permanently lower multipliers for qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties and the £4.3 billion support package introduced to support those ratepayers facing large increases in bills following the 2026 revaluation.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Department is taking to prevent dog attacks resulting in the death of other dogs; and what assessment the Department has made of the adequacy of existing laws and enforcement measures in protecting dogs from fatal attacks.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government reconvened the Responsible Dog Ownership taskforce in 2025 to explore measures to promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog. The taskforce focused on four key areas: improving public education on staying safe around dogs, training for both dogs and their owners, enforcement of existing legislation, and improving data on dog attacks. Ministers have recently received its recommendations and will consider these carefully in due course.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the funding required to meet the targets in the third cycling and walking investment strategy, and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the Hon Member to Question 9720 answered on 18 June 2026 and to Question 10057 answered on 23 June 2026.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of summer temperatures and heatwaves on household health and wellbeing; and whether he plans to introduce financial support or incentives to help households improve cooling measures, including air conditioning and other heat-mitigation technologies.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Warm Homes Plan sets out our approach to upgrading the nation’s homes, including climate adaptation. Over this Parliament, we intend to introduce the most appropriate, cost-effective passive cooling measures into our capital schemes, to support low-income consumers and those in social housing.
Passive cooling measures include internal blinds, external shutters, reflective window films, and cooler building materials. These enhance thermal comfort in hot weather and, when paired with active cooling, help mitigate energy bill increases.
We recognise that in some cases active cooling is needed to protect those most vulnerable to overheating and have taken steps to enable access to clean heat technologies that can also provide cooling functionality when necessary. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme will provide £2,500 grants for air‑to‑air heat pumps, which can also provide cooling.
The Government also embed overheating considerations through the Decent Homes Standard (DHS), Awaab’s Law, and the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the contribution of UK aviation emissions to the Government’s net zero targets; and what further measures she is considering to reduce emissions from the aviation sector while maintaining connectivity and economic growth.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises that aviation is one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonise, but also one that is vital to the UK’s connectivity, trade and economic growth. The Department regularly assesses the contribution of UK aviation emissions towards meeting our legally binding net zero commitments, and routinely reports to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on the projected impact of aviation decarbonisation policies, to support monitoring of economy-wide carbon budget performance.
We have announced that we are also reviewing our Jet Zero Strategy (published in 2022), which outlines our approach to aviation decarbonisation, with a view to publish an updated Strategy in early 2027. This will ensure that our aviation decarbonisation policies and framework continue to be accurate and robust.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of regional variation in access to care and dietary support for people living with Phenylketonuria in England; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure consistent provision across NHS regions.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
We recognise that there are health inequities faced by those living with rare diseases and reducing them is a key commitment within England’s Rare Diseases Action Plans. This includes a new and important action to embed rare diseases within the NHS England Core20PLUS5 framework. This work aims to ensure that people living with rare conditions, including phenylketonuria, are better recognised within healthcare inequalities programmes and supported through more equitable access to healthcare services.
No specific assessment has been made of regional variation in access to care and dietary support for people living with phenylketonuria in England. However, NHS England commissions a specialised service for inherited metabolic disorders, through which commissioned hospitals provide access to specialist food supplements and clinical support. Newborn screening enables early diagnosis and referral into specialised services. NHS England is also working with providers to support equitable access, including through remote monitoring and advice to help minimise travel requirements for highly specialised services. In addition, professionals work with manufacturers to improve the range, acceptability and access to specialist dietary supplements and low-protein foods.
The Government remains committed to improving access to specialist care, treatments and drugs for people with rare diseases through the UK Rare Diseases Framework and the England Rare Diseases Action Plans.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve civic and political education in the secondary level of education.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Following the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, work is underway to deliver a new curriculum and assessment system that is ambitious for every child, rich in knowledge and strong on skills.
The reformed curriculum will provide a clear framework to ensure that pupils acquire the essential skills and knowledge they need to be active, informed and responsible citizens. In line with the recommendations of the review, we will ensure that citizenship education is tightly focused on the essential content pupils should know at primary and secondary, encompassing the vital threads of government, law and democracy, climate education, financial and media literacy.
Working closely with the sector, we are working towards a first teaching of the new curriculum from September 2028 and a phased approach to new GCSE teaching from September 2029.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness Safer Streets Mission in reducing residential burglaries in Greater Manchester; and what steps she is taking to improve the conviction rate of residential burglary in Greater Manchester.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government shares concerns over the misuse of both manufactured and homemade catapults, whether against people, property or wildlife.
There are a wide range of laws in place to punish those who misuse catapults. The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies, including Dorset police, with a range of tools and powers that they can use to respond to anti-social behaviour, including involving catapults. This includes Community Protection Warnings and Notices and Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs).
Under the Prevention of Crime Act 1953, if a person carries an offensive weapon in a public place or threatens a person with an offensive weapon, they may face up to 4 years in prison. The definition of an ‘offensive weapon’ may include a catapult depending on the circumstances of the case.
Where a catapult is used to harm a person, under the Offences against the Person Act 1861, it could be charged as assault occasioning actual bodily harm which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years’ imprisonment, or the offence of wounding or causing grievous bodily harm with intent, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Specific to animals and birds, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects all wild birds and some wild animals in England and Wales and there are a range of other offences found in further legislation to protect wild animals from cruelty such as the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
We have noted proposals for new restrictions, and we are actively considering what more might be done.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of enabling small businesses to renegotiate and exit fixed-term commercial energy contracts agreed during periods of peak wholesale prices.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s primary focus is on ensuring energy is affordable for all businesses, and that they are provided better protection from being locked into unfair and expensive energy contracts.
That’s why the Government plans to directly regulate Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs), by appointing Ofgem as the regulator when parliamentary time allows. A regulated TPI market will drive pro-consumer competition between energy brokers and deliver better outcomes for energy consumers, particularly charities and small businesses.